The California Legislature passed bills on Sunday establishing buffer zones around houses of worship and restricting hateful content in official voter guides.
AB 2664, the Safe Worship Zone Act, establishes a 100-foot zone around entrances and exits of houses of worship. Within the zone, a person may not intentionally approach someone entering or leaving within 8 feet without consent to distribute literature, display a sign, engage in oral protest or education or harass, obstruct, threaten or intimidate the person.
The measure passed the California State Assembly 49-2, with 28 abstentions, according to Jewish California, a statewide coalition of Jewish organizations. The Senate approved it 34-0, with six abstentions, on Aug. 27.
“Every Californian, no matter their faith, should be able to walk to their place of worship without fear of being surrounded or intimidated,” David Bocarsly, CEO of Jewish California, stated. “This bill faced sustained, organized opposition, and it passed because lawmakers listened to people of every faith who said the same thing: let us pray in peace.”
AB 1853 sets standards for candidate statements in official state and county voter guides. It limits the statements to information about candidates’ education, professional experience, public service, community involvement and qualifications, while barring attacks on individuals or groups, external links, false or misleading claims and hateful or discriminatory content.
The bill passed the Assembly 47-9, with 23 abstentions, and the Senate 32-0, with eight abstentions, per Jewish California, which sponsored both bills. It was introduced after an antisemitic and white-nationalist candidate statement appeared in California’s June 2026 primary voter guide, which was mailed to 23 million households.
“Hate speech does not belong in a state-approved document paid by tax dollars paid,” Bocarsly stated, adding that the bill “boldly declares that our state’s official election documents can’t be used to spread conspiracy theories and bigotry.”
California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, has until Sept. 30 to sign or veto both bills.
